Life after prison
Today (13th October, 2022) the Prison Radio Association is launching a ground-breaking new podcast channel called Life After Prison. Life After Prison will feature inspirational audio and video content specifically for people who have spent time in prison, or people who have been affected by the criminal justice system. It aims to give a voice to people impacted by the criminal justice system, so that they can help others transitioning into a new, positive phase in their lives.
This is a guest post by the Prison Radio Association.
Background
The Prison Radio Association has run National Prison Radio in partnership with HMPPS for over a decade, broadcasting 24/7 into 110 prisons in England and Wales. It is the world’s first national radio station for people in prison.
National Prison Radio gives people a sense of community and support while they’re serving prison sentences. Key to that is the vital role that men and women in prisons up and down the country play in the development, production and presentation of all National Prison Radio programmes.
National Prison Radio is an integral part of prison life.
- 84% of people in prison listen to National Prison Radio
- 59% of people listen everyday
- People listen for an average of 11.1 hours per week
- 91% of listeners say they trust the information that they hear on NPR
- 34,1000 – number of messages received from people in prison in the 12 months to April 2022
National Prison Radio is only available inside prison cells. For years, NPR’s listeners have been urging us to make our award-winning content, and the information and support it offers, available to people after prison.
Our solution to that is Life After Prison.
Life After Prison
The Life After Prison channel features two brand new podcasts, The Sit Down and Getting Out.
Both podcasts will offer advice, inspiration, information, support and entertainment to people who have experienced prison and the criminal justice system. It will help listeners to get their lives back on track on the outside.
The Sit Down and Getting Out will be hosted by two extraordinary new presenters, Zak and Jules, who have both spent time in prison. Jules:
“When I got out, I didn’t feel like I had anyone around me who I could talk to about my time inside. I hope with this podcast we can create a community that knows they don’t have to deal with everything on their own”
Getting Out is a podcast series packed with help and support on the most important issues that you face when you first come out of prison. In this series we cover a number of topics such as accommodation, employment and health.
The Sit Down is our flagship podcast show. Jules and Zak will be ‘sitting down’ for a fascinating and detailed conversation with incredible people, many of whom have been though the prison system themselves.
Zak says
“Hopefully this is the start of something big, we want to give a voice to people who aren’t usually heard.”
Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, and working with organisations across the criminal justice system and voluntary sector, we believe that Life After Prison will bring inspiration and advice to people affected by the criminal justice system at a time when they need it most.
—-
Life After Prison launches on Thursday 13th October. Each episode of Life After Prison is filmed, and will be available via the Life After Prison YouTube channel.
Life After Prison will also be available across all major podcast channels, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Finally, there will be new content posted all the time across our social media channels: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
3 responses
There are some great innovations and articles. However, release is difficult and depending on the probation service depends on the type of support offered. There needs to be reforms regarding recalls. Many have been recalled for low level issues or no charges. This disrupts their life, they lose jobs, families are in chaos not just emotionally but financially as well. Debts occur for those recalled as no one helps contacting companies so are likely to gain CCJs and bad credit when they are finally realised making it more difficult than before when they are released after an extremely lengthy process. There needs to be another way. Eg GPS tag, a community intervention rather than recalling to prison and those on life licence have significant disadvantages on release the first time let alone after recall. Probation needs to stop being risk adverse and learn to manage low level issues in the community. Eg one offender was supposed to be on tag for 3 months with COVID in the house the company refused to enter and put tag on. He continued to end of his licence no issues. Now he has been recalled for 3 months due to not wearing the tag! Another male was asked to report to police station, he was then arrested based on a phonecall allegation, no charge, he was working full time and caring for terminally ill father recalled, as probation filled in paperwork before he was interviewed by police. He has an alibi for the malicious allegation. So now he has lost job, his father will die without him being there. He now sits and waits for months for a parole hearing. He has tried to sign up for courses as does not want to sit and do nothing but long waiting lists and lack of prison staff his time is wasted.
Thanks Michelle. I absolutely agree with you that recall has got out of hand, I think it is now more than 10% of the prison population who are in custody because of being recalled. It is my estimation that about half of these people have not committed a further offence.